Beginnings...

The first few days of school have come and gone. They were full of excitement and exhaustion and we are spending the weekend recuperating.

The girls had a great beginning to their school year. We ADORE their teachers and we are incredibly grateful for not just what they will teach them this year, but how they will love them through these first school years. My girls already feel noticed, special, and loved. I couldn't asked for more as a mama. 

We took lots of first day pictures. Next year, we will dress up and act like we are going to school the night before so that I hopefully won't misspell anything on the signs again. We were in a crazy rush and I was trying to make a chalkboard sign at 7am, to get out of the door by 7:05...not a good combo. 

My beautiful babies...

                                     

I can't show you the rest of Lily's sign for the reasons stated above.  :)

When I was looking through the first day pictures that evening, I got pretty sentimental, so I have to share some other first day pics. Isn't it amazing how quickly kids grow and has fast the years fly by?

                                                            Happy back to school! :)

Think-Ahead Thursdays

It's official, summer is O.V.E.R. Not the season of course, because it is still hot as blue blazes around here, but I have traded in my yoga pants for real-people clothes. At least for the next 10 months.
I am excited about having a routine and some structure, meeting my sweet new class, and reuniting with my fabulous co-workers, but I'm sure going to miss my sweet three each day.

I mean, look at this guy. Melt. My. Mama. Heart.

And I will miss these two sweet sisters and watching them play and color together for hours on end.

So this post is more like a "I'm Thankful I Thought ahead Thursday" because I'm back at work and we are starting to use our freezer meals.

I am going to cook some chicken enchiladas for a friend who just had a baby.

I will cook and shred my chicken over the weekend, so putting them together and making them will not take lots of time. I'm using the recipe off of the back of the can of green verde enchilada sauce. Easy peasy - but really yummy. Of course, I'm going to make three batches - one for us to eat fresh, one for my friend, and one to freeze.

I'm also going to make the Garden Veggie Soup again because I have lots of fresh squash, tomatoes, and zucchini that a sweet friend gave us from her garden. Plus, that soup turned out AMAZING.

Back to life. Back to reality. Hope to see you soon!

Meet the Teacher

I absolutely love the "back-to-school" excitement. I am not necessarily saying that I'm ready for it just yet, but I love the thrill of it all. It is exciting to experience it as both a mama and a teacher.

As a teacher, I love to see these timid, tan faces come to my room, arms full of supplies, hopeful for a little buddy to sit next to. They are too shy to talk to to me, but that never lasts long. I try to create a welcome and warm environment for both students and parents. Because as a mama, it can be a bit unsettling to watch your child walk away into the arms of someone, who is often, a complete stranger. During my first year of teaching, an amazing administrator told me, "The two most important things in an adult's life are their kids and their money. You have one of those for eight hours a day." I want parents to know that I will do everything in my power to love their children as my own. I'm big on first impressions. For my teacher friends, I am sharing a few of the things I use to welcome parents and students alike. Although I wish I could take the credit, none of these are my own ideas. Sharing is caring, right?

I am using these stations to guide my parents and students around my classroom. The great thing about these stations is they are totally editable!

I have these cute little FREE tags tied to water bottles for parents. These came from Erica's Ed-Ventures.

For the students, I give out a "Back to School Snack Mix" with a sweet little poem. This came from Elementary Shenenigans

As a mama, school feels different. My stomach is in knots as I let my little ones walk into the care of someone else for so many hours a day. My mind wanders with the "what ifs" and I just pray that they feel safe and secure. Because I know first hand the work and care that goes into loving on little ones, I want to give my kids' teachers something that lets them know that I appreciate them and all that they do for my personal children. I snagged this idea from the fabulous Cara Carroll. I didn't do the fancy pots, I just picked up some cute plastic crates from Target. Almost all of the goodies can be found in the travel section at Target. You can print the cute "First Day Survival" list from her blog. :)

Happy Back to School! :)

Think-Ahead Thursdays

I just finished writing out my grocery list for tomorrow's Kroger trip. As I made this week's list, I realized that this will be my last week of doubling meals to freeze, as this is my last week at home. One week from today, I'll be back to the daily grind and our sweet, sweltering, simple summer will come to an end.

Although the busyness of caring for little ones can make the day seem to tick by slowly, this summer has flown by faster than any I can remember. It seems as though the hours in between nap-time last an eternity, but while that angel-baby is sleeping, I'll find one of his blankets that have his sweet smell, and I am simply giddy about holding him when he wakes up. Goodness gracious, I'm going to miss this little booger everyday.

The days are long, but the years fly by.

But these two beauties get to travel with me to school each day, and I am grateful for the extra minutes of "girl time" we will get to have together each day. I am praying that I be able to cherish these fleeting days as they can easily turn into a blur of panicked mornings, trying to get all of us presentable, fed,  and in the car by 7am.

We are planning to take this next week slow and steady. I'm seeing lots of ice cream, sno-cones, pools, and PJ's in our next week together.

Maybe you can use a few of these recipes and spend a few extra minutes cherishing your last days of summer with those you love.

Next Week's Meal Plan  (You can read about my meal-making schedule here):

Meal 1 - Low-Sodium Beef Stew (recipe below) - Making double for a freezer meal
Meal 2 - Baked Tacos - Freezing extra taco meat

Meal 3 - Chicken Fajita Pasta - Making double for a freezer meal

*No extra meal this week because all of these recipes make large quantities and there should be plenty for lunches each day.

Sunday Night Dessert: Oreo Brownie Trifle - This dessert is incredibly easy AND incredibly yummy! The last time I made it, I could NOT keep the kids out of it! It is so good!! 

Low-Sodium Beef Stew
I do not have measurements or quantities, as this is a throw-together recipe that I made on a whim and it turned out to be delicious. It is one of Russ' most favorite meals!
-Beef Tips
-Celery (diced)
-Carrots (diced)
-Sweet Potatoes (diced)
-1-2 can(s) diced tomatoes
-onion
-minced garlic
-3 packs of Mrs. Dash Pot Roast Seasoning
-2 cups unsalted or low-sodium beef broth

Cook your beef tips in about 1 tsp. of oil. Save the liquid from cooking for your stew. Saute onions, celery, garlic, and carrots until onions are translucent. Add beef tips and sauce to the veggies along with sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and all seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 4-6 hours. If using a slow cooker, let it cook at least 4 hours on low.

Summer School

At the beginning of the summer, I made it one of my goals want-to's, to spend a few minutes of Will's morning nap time doing school activities with my girls. We have been doing this for three weeks now and it has been going surprisingly well. The girls are enjoying it and we have been able to do this at least 3-4 mornings each week. My nephew Luke even joins us a couple of mornings each week.

Some of you might think that because I'm a teacher, working with my girls comes naturally. Well, working on kindergarten and pre-kindergarten skills is far different than third grade skills. And its just a fact that your own personal children act like completely different children in the presence of a not-mommy teacher. With that being said, I've tried to plan activities that each of my girls need. Although they are only 17 months apart, they are completely different children, with different learning styles, needs, goals, and interests. Now, take that scenario and multiply it by 48 and you will see why teachers need a summer break.

Lyla is getting ready to enter Pre-K, so below are my goals for her as we work in the summer:
-Letter sounds and beginning blends
-Writing uppercase and lowercase letters correctly
-Spelling her last name
-Identifying and drawing shapes
-Writing numbers through 10, counting to 30.
-Patterns
-Phone Number and Address

Lily is entering Kindergarten this fall, so we are focusing primarily on the following:
-Dolch word sight list 
-Adding to 12
-Reading simple sentences
-Beginning/Ending Sounds
-Simple Story Comprehension
-Counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's.

I have pulled from several resources for their activities and I am linking those below.

1. www.handwritingworks.com - You can type in anything you wish, and it makes a handwriting worksheet.
2. Summer Review for Kinder Kids by A Teeny Tiny Teacher
3. Sight Word Sentences by Common Core Connection
4. commoncoresheets.com
5. Number Writing Practice by I Heart Teaching
6. Number Line Addition by Kindergarten Pals
7. ixl.com
8. Kindergarten Reading Comprehension Passages by Kaitlynn Albani
9. Xtramath.com

These are the resources I am using now, but you can check out my pinterest board for several other great ideas that I wish I could take credit for. :)

If you are planning on doing some summer schoolin' with your personal children I do have a few recommendations:

1. Keep it light and easy. School days can be long and taxing, so when you are working in the summer, keep it short and sweet. At this point in the girls' lives, learning is fresh, new, fun, and exciting. I want to keep it that way as long as possible.

2. Reiterate what you're learning throughout the day. Look for sight words at stores and in books. Have your child count items in the buggy or in their room. Let them help you with cooking. Once they learn something new and then make it tangible with a hands-on activity, that is when the magic happens in their little brains.

3. Be done when they are done. There have been a few mornings when Lyla has said, "I'm tired of writing my letters." When that happens, we end for the day, or we switch activities. At this point in their development, learning takes place everywhere they go. Don't force them to sit and work on an activity - children learn through PLAY!

If you have any other ideas for "summer school" please feel free to share!

Looking back...

Today, I am grateful. I am grateful to be home with my babies. All of us are still in our PJ's soaking up this last official day of summer break. I start back to work on Monday.

Boo-hoo. (repeat).

It was one year ago today that I received the phone call that no wife ever wants to get. It was one year ago that I saw a scene that no wife ever wants to see. And it was one year ago today that my sweet husband miraculously walked away from a terrible accident. 

As this time of year approaches (back to school), it is so easy for me to get wrapped up in the 2.7 million things to do. My to-do list never shrinks, it grows...daily. So this summer, I kept myself at home with my babies, only taking three days to prepare. Russ' accident helps to put everything into perspective. I can become so engulfed in my work that I can forget my first ministry is to my family.

 I am so thankful that I have a job that allows me 8 weeks to pretend that I am a stay-at-home mommy. I promised myself that I would cherish those weeks this summer. My girls are at such precious ages. I will blink and they will be 17. Tear...

So, my table is covered with printables, labels, laminating, and lesson plans, but I am home. With my family. :)

For those of you who are in my shoes, we will make it together. For those of you who are home with your babies daily, cherish every.little.minute. 

Teacher Post

For those of us that teach kiddos for a living, we have have back to school on our brains. It has been keeping me up late at night searching all of these cute blogs for ideas.

Here is a great idea for Classroom management. I first found it here, but saw it again, here with lots of additional classroom management tips. The first site even has a free behavior chart you can print.

I think I'm going to use this idea in my classroom. Now, who is coming to help me finish my to-do list???

20 days until 23 little ones come to my room!

I wish there were 32 hours in a day...

Yes, 32. I think that would give me enough time to get everything done and still have time to play with my girls. Then maybe, just maybe, I could read more than 3 sentences in my book before falling asleep at night. But, the Lord gave us 24, and I'll accept it. Sometimes I just wish I had more time.


Today was one of those days. I've been working at the school for two days writing/revising our units. The units, I tell you, are huge tasks because of the changes that are taking place this year and because we just want quality stuff to use. Anyway, I've been a tad bit stressed because when I go to the school I'm reminded of how badly I need to work in my classroom. To top it all off, we are changing things up a quite a bit this year. Don't get me wrong - I am THRILLED for the changes. Delighted. Estatic. But, it's still change, and that's always hard for me. I'm a control freak.


I worked until 5:00 and when I got home I quickly made dinner (recipe below), swept the dog hair that is driving me extra crazy these days, washed bottles, straightened up, ate the dinner, nursed a baby, gave baths, took a shower, and then realized that I haven't said more than a couple of words to Russ and I hadn't played or snuggled with my girls at all, and then it was bedtime. I know, sad day, right? And single moms, bless your soul. I just don't see how I get through a day without Russ!


So that is what brings me to blogging land tonight. I wish we had 32 hours in a day. Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly thankful for my summer's off with my girls. I know that most moms work 8-5 everyday and come home exhausted without a summer break. So, for you stay at home moms - cherish it. Cherish every single stressful minute!!!!


I threw the recipe below together with ingredients I had on hand. You all probably have these in your pantry, too. It turned out sort of like baked spaghetti. It was very good, and healthy, too!


We will call it Baked Italian Casserole
Ingredients:
1 package Wacky Pasta (this is what I had, you could use whatever you have) -cooked
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 small red onion
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (mine had garlic, oregano, and basil in them)
garlic
oregano
black petter
salt
Shredded Parmesan cheese
Shredded Mozzarella cheese


Directions: Brown your meat with the onion. Drain. Cook your pasta according to directions. Drain. Combine all ingredients (except cheese) in a baking dish. Pour into dish, top with cheese. I didn't use more than 1/2 a cup because I'm not a big cheese person, but you can go crazy if you want! :) Bake on 350 for 25 minutes. 

This was actually very good and a quick, throw-together meal. We ate it with steamed corn and a side salad. Personally, I think it would be divine with maybe chopped bell peppers or zucchini, but I didn't have any here tonight. 


Now that I feel like I've been very negative, I'll leave you with some sweet doll babies to watch! Lyla was supposed to be napping the other day when I heard some giggling. I went in to find these cuties just a playing!! 


Click here!

Enjoy!

Is anyone else going crazy?

So, the countdown has begun and it seems as if all my teaching buds have school on the brain. I'm going to be honest and admit that part of me likes it. I like having a deadline. I like decorating my classroom and making things look cutesy. I'll pass on the meetings. Please, for the love of Pete, just let me work in my classroom. The back-to-school craziness is so busy! After 7 years of this you would think I would have it somewhat together, but I think I've told my husband every year, "This is just too much, I'll never be ready".

And somehow, I'm always ready for those sweet babies to walk through my door.

And because school is what has been keeping me up at night searching the internet for cute ideas, I wanted to share my new favorite teacher blogger from Sunny Days in Second Grade. She uses cute fonts and cute graphics and for those of you that know me, you know that is my thing.

And so it begins...

I did something I shouldn't have done today...

I looked at a calendar.

Yes, I looked at a calendar and it made it clear that my time at home is ticking away. That makes me sad for two reasons.
1 - I haven't had nearly enough time with my girls and my summer "to-do's" are still piled way high.
2 - I haven't been to the school once and that makes me have a little panic attack inside because of the mountain of "to-do's" I have waiting for me there.

And so it begins...I printed supply lists, welcome letters, and lots of labels today. Three things out of a gazillion.

Progress, right?

Here is a new blog that my friend at Precious Perks introduced me to. This teacher, Mrs. Bainbridge, is my go-to source for all things cutesy!

On a happy note, this little love bug started sitting up by herself. Gosh, she is just the sweetest thing!!!

And here she is being "loved on" by her big sis!